My daughter asked me recently how I came up with the names for the characters in my books. Choosing them is actually something I really enjoy and I have several ways of doing it. Sometimes I just have it to hand and that's true of Stag in "New Beginnings on Vancouver Island". https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1913719383/ My hero was… Continue reading How to avoid C. Spray – getting your names right.
It would seem Mr Samuel Farrer was not a gentleman who settled his accounts promptly. He obviously enjoyed a tipple since on July 7th he took delivery of half a gallon of gin. From August 1st until December 1st he bought 6 dozen bottles of porter (dark stout). That's 72 bottles for three months. If… Continue reading Mr Samuel Farrer settles his spirits account – March 10th, 1855
If, like me, you enjoy reading gravestone inscriptions then Whitehaven will not disappoint. I like to read the names, ages and family connections. Whitehaven's gravestones are particularly interesting because often the places where people died reveal the trade and history of the town. The tombstone above is a point in case. Jeremiah Pattinson died aged… Continue reading Whitehaven’s Gravestones.
This receipt is an original one made out to John Whittle of 87 Queen Street, Whitehaven, on July 4th, 1854, in payment of a lamp and paving rate. I assume it's a local lighting and street tax akin to our commercial rates. I thought I would spend a a short while seeing if I could… Continue reading Tracing Mr Whittle of 87 Church Street, Whitehaven.
My protagonist, Stag Liddell, has a problem to solve. He's walking down the cliff after his stint at the Wellington pit and pauses to survey the town spread out beneath him. He sees the slate roofs, the ships being serviced in the harbour, the sailors and townsfolk going about their business, just as they always… Continue reading Looking Down on Whitehaven
I’ve chosen these more or less at random from the Miscellany section of “History, Gazetteer and Directory of Cumberland – 1847".* The miscellany is sub-titled “Comprising the addresses of Clergy, Gentry, Partners in firms, and others not arranged under the Classifications of Professions and Trades.” I assume this means they were regarded as the "great… Continue reading Some Whitehaven Citizens in 1847
From Lorna's Command Centre 